Queen Letizia of Spain was in Rome, Italy on Thursday, November 20, for the Second International Conference on Nutrition hosted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World Health Organization. Letizia gave a speech about nutrition, speaking to an audience of delegates from 172 countries around the world, including Pope Francis – who also spoke, saying that the right to a healthy diet was about dignity, not charitable handouts.
[Letizia and FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva]
“The Second International Conference on Nutrition (ICN2) is an inclusive inter-governmental meeting on nutrition jointly organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO).”
“Global leaders on Wednesday approved the Rome Declaration on Nutrition and Framework for Action, embracing voluntary principles aimed at addressing today’s major nutrition challenges and identifying priorities for enhanced international cooperation on nutrition. Among its priorities are to forge ways to tackle obesity, a growing global health problem even in lower-income countries, to combat micronutrient deficiencies that affect two billion people worldwide, and assure access of all people to healthy diets required for their individual development.”
Below is the transcript of part of Letizia’s speech, in Spanish:
- Invertir en mejorar la nutrición aumenta la productividad y el crecimiento económico, reduce obviamente los costes en atención sanitaria y promueve la educación, la capacidad intelectual y el desarrollo social.
- Una mujer con acceso a la educación supone un beneficio para toda la comunidad. En otras palabras, cuando se centra la atención en las mujeres, la repercusión en los hogares es mayor y, por tanto, el impacto social es enorme.
- La evidencia científica basada en la investigación rigurosa es esencial para avalar vías de actuación en ámbitos como la innovación en el sector agroalimentario o los efectos de los alimentos sobre nuestra salud.
- Las multinacionales del sector de la alimentación y de la agricultura deben acompañar a las agencias internacionales ya los gobiernos en su tarea de promover la salud pública. Por eso, promover la convergencia entre los intereses comerciales y la responsabilidad política de la salud es fundamental.
Below is the Google translation:
- Investing in improving nutrition increases productivity and economic growth, obviously reduces health care costs and promotes education, intellectual capacity and social development.
- A woman with access to education is a benefit for the entire community. In other words, when attention is focused women, the impact on households is higher and, therefore, the social impact is enormous.
- Scientific evidence based on rigorous research is essential to endorse courses of action in areas such as innovation in the food industry or the effects of food on our health.
- Multinationals in the food industry and agriculture must accompany international agencies and governments in their efforts to promote public health. Therefore, promoting convergence between commercial interests and political responsibility for health is critical.
Here is a video of her speech:
Letizia looked great in a red dress and heels, and smartly had her hair pulled back into an updo so her hair would not get in the way while she was giving her speech. She had notes and checked them throughout her speech, but she was engaged and looked at the audience more than she checked her notes. Excellent job by Her Majesty of Spain.
I thought it would be nice, after the kerfuffle Prince William and Kate Middleton caused over their NY trip, to highlight a royal doing great work with their position. Shout out to Lauri from Ca for bringing this to my attention.
[Letizia meeting Pope Francis]
More photos in the gallery during her speech, with José Graziano da Silva, and signing the Golden Book upon her arrival.
Links: About the ICN2. ICN2’s story about day 2. Full speech transcript.
Photos: Copyright ©FAO/Giuseppe Carotenuto
It’s good to see a royal consort using some of her time and energy for a greater good. Letizia looked very professional and comfortable in the pics. I imagine that this appearance too a lot of preparation for her and it appears she totally nailed it. Clearly she could not just pull a dress out of her closet, have her hair blown-out, and go spend an hour smiling and shaking hands. When I see other royal females trying to make a difference, it’s hard not to make comparisons…Sigh.
To be fair, Queen Letizia has the background that other royals (especially Duchess Catherine) lack – she was a journalist and news anchor. I’m assuming that’s where her evident professionalism and excellent presence comes from.
Very true. Her background would most definitely help her in her role now. And it shows.
She’s also done a lot of work with Felipe to improve his presentation and presence in the past 10 years.
Very true. However, there’s no reason Kate couldn’t have pursued training and/or work experience that would have prepared her for the role. She had 10 years to do it, money wasn’t an issue, and she knew what was coming.
Definitely agree with you. Kate has no excuses.
Dear fairygodmom,
What stood out for me was how comfortable Letizia looked in these pictures. In fact she looks confident at every event I’ve seen. I do agree with Liz that her former career certainly helped. But I also think that she is comfortable in her own skin and is assured of her husbands love and affection. I wish she could give you know who a few pointers in carriage and deportment. 🙂
I think you are both very correct. Her former career gives her a clear advantage in these situations, but she is still putting in time and effort and putting herself out there. She doesn’t have to do this. She could leave it up to her hubby or anyone else while she shops or suns herself. I sincerely doubt Letizia is overworked or underpaid, but I figure an appearance like this took a ton of prep time. Certainly more than going to an NBA game or making a handful of one hour charity appearances this year.
Making a 7 minutes long speech in front of over 170 UN delegates would definitely take prep time, and a lot of it. The time she took to prepare showed with how confident she was while speaking.
Queen Letizia has Style. She is quite a beautiful woman. She appears to take her role seriously and works hard on causes that she believes in strongly. A lovely role-model and a woman who deserves to be praised. She is the total package!
She is great. If people want more of Leti, I’ll definitely cover her more.
Yes, please do. You will bring her the quality attention she deserves.
I love everything about this…a royal actually working for an enormously important cause, LOVE Queen Letizia, her intelligence, her hair, makeup, dress…and I adore Pope Francis. Thanks so much for covering this, and in such depth.
I love when royals get really involved with causes and show how invested they are in them. It’s nice to see.
Liz, you’re correct – as a former journalist, Letizia knows how to prepare, present and deliver her speeches effectively and dress accordingly. This is the first time I’ve heard her speak and she has a melodic and authoritative voice, again obviously honed from her professional years. I also admire her greatly for her work ethic and involvement in the causes she espouses.
It’s the first time I ever heard her speak, too. She has a lovely voice, but she speaks fairly quickly. Not that I could understand her anyway – my high school Spanish has all but left me.
Thanks KMR for such a wonderful post!! It’s so great to read about what a royal woman is saying and/or doing rather than just what she’s wearing. Letizia is quickly becoming my favorite royal woman. I agree that her former career as a news reporter has certainly been an asset to her in the role of Queen. Also, my heart melts a little at the affection her and King Felipe show for one another.
I really love the fact the her, CP Mary and Maxima have all had successful careers and lives before becoming royal wives. I used to feel that the DoC was a wonderful role model for young women, but then I read several biographies about her and that feeling has changed. I would never want my daughter to give up her life, her ambitions, her dreams for someone else. However, I do have to wonder why Charles and William are the type of men who expect a woman to be at their beck and call. Edward certainly wasn’t like that, Sophie founded her own business and continued to run it even after their wedding. Obviously Phillip never expected Elizabeth to be at his beck and call, so what is it with Charles and Will?
Last and certainly least, I love how Letizia dresses. Always professional and appropriate without looking to stuffy and dowdy.
Thank you for bringing her speech to my attention. I was happy to see her giving a great speech to such an international council. I love seeing the royals actually do something worthwhile. I agree that her former career would have prepared her nicely for her current role, and her confidence showed that she took the time to properly prep for this speech.
I think Charles was influenced a lot by Louis Mountbatten, who, among other stuff, told Charles to gain “experience” but then marry a virgin. Then of course Will was coddled so he thought he was a special snowflake who should get whatever he wants and never work for it.
No one should take marriage counsel from Mountbatten. His own marriage was absolutely scandalous and very dysfuntional.
I’m going to go against the grain a bit on this one, as I find her to be all surface, with no real personality shining through. Don’t get me wrong; she’s accomplished, but she doesn’t appear to show her real self at all. Give me Maxima any day. 🙂
I don’t know, you could be right, she does seem though very focused, maybe ambitious. I always marvel how far we’ve come because she was married and divorced before her marriage to the now King. I think she’s doing a good job representing for Spain; I love her style while getting things done and putting the time in for effort. It will be interesting to see how she continues to grow on the international stage and I’m glad KMR is going to cover her.
I know it’s a matter of personal taste, but I rather like that Letizia is a bit oblique. It shows her professionalism and that she takes her duties seriously, like a job, which they are.
I understand what you mean, but I’d rather have a “public self” that is controlled, confident, and well spoken, than a “public self” that is manic smiles and fake interest.
I see them as two sides of the same coin, and I dislike that about Kate as well. We dont’ see her self either, although of the two of them Letizia is certainly more polished, and definitely a snappier dresser. 🙂
Thank you for this! I admit to being a Letizia fangirl. She’s professionally accomplished, hard working, poised, and involved in many serious charities and Royal duties. Plus, she and Felipe are so hot together. They are like a soap-opera version of a royal couple. And their kids are adorable (so sue me, I swim in the shallow end sometimes).
Their kids are so cute. I’m glad people have responded well to Letizia. I’ll definitely cover her more.
I LOVE her ! She’s my favourite royal since a long time : I love the way she dresses (I could die to have her shoes… which wouldn’t be so clever, they wouldn’t be that useful in my grave…), all the good work she does, she seems so committed and nice, but with a touch of “retenue” (no idea how to say it in english, it means that she doesn’t “give” everything : she’s kind, but sh’s not your best friend, I hope you see what I mean…) The online dictionnary says “restraint” but I’m quite sure it’s not this meaning of “retenue”. Anyway !
Thank you for the post, I enjoyed to see the photos again ! Have a nice day (awful here in Paris).
But you would be the best looking person in the graveyard with those shoes 😉
I can’t think of a word to describe what I think you’re talking about other than aloof, but that has sort of a negative connotation and not exactly when you mean. But I know what you mean, where a person seems to be enough on your level to connect in a genuine way, but not on your level enough to still feel far away and special. I can’t describe it well either.
I speak French, and I think the closest approximation in English is “self-possessed.”
@bluhare , kate has been in the RF 3 years , with no improvement whatsoever, ya galas and art galleries are her thing, leti deals with international audience she has no time for crazy maniac grins, and hair flipping!
I love her. Her speaking voice is divine. She knows her stuff and she is a great representative for Spain.
Her hair looks dry and frizzed. She would look younger with a glossy rich brown